The Polish Writers' Union or the Union of Polish Writers (, ZLP) was established at a meeting of Polish writers and activists in

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

behind the Soviet front line, during the liberation of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

in 1944. Its initial name (Professional Union of Polish Writers) came from the similar organization formed in 1920 by renowned Polish novelist Stefan Żeromski, called ''Związek Zawodowy Literatów Polskich'' which was deactivated during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The name was shortened to Polish Writers' Union at the 1949 conference in

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

, in order to reflect the new government-imposed policy of Socialist realism in Poland advanced by the Polish communist party of that period. In the following years, the two official organs of ZLP were ''Twórczość'' monthly and the weekly ''Nowa Kultura''. After the socialist revolution of 1956 the Union became less of a political arm of the United Workers' Party, and more of a true writers' organization devoted to creative output and the well-being of its members. In communist Poland, the ZLP was the only official representation of the country's literary community. In 1980, the Union consisted of 1,349 participants gathered in its 17 regional chapters. It had an annual budget set by the state with numerous special funds and permits allowing for food supplements, medical clinics, foreign travel, cars, vacations, stipends and cash prizes for the inner circle. Its leaders lived a life of privilege, while some of the writers are known to have worked for the secret police, spying on others.

Martial law in Poland

On 13 December 1981 the authoritarian government of the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

introduced

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

in an attempt to crush political opposition. Pro-democracy movements such as

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

were banned and their leaders detained. The Union of Polish Writers was suspended. Some of its dissident members were jailed and dozens blacklisted. At the Polish United Workers' Party Central Committee meeting the writers loyal to the new regime condemned the leaders of ZLP as disreputable. The Union was disbanded on 19th of August 1983. It was reinstated the same year by communist hardliners based on a new pledge of loyalty, which caused a deep rift in its highly politicized community. Many former members did not renew their cards. After the collapse of the Communist bloc in 1989, the ZLP lost its state sponsorship. An alternative, new writers' union was also formed, called Stowarzyszenie Pisarzy Polskich (The Society of Polish Writers). As of now, both organizations have their headquarters at the ''Dom Literatury'' (Literary House) in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

at ul. Krakowskie Przedmieście street, in a historic building which they own collectively.

Postwar presidents

* Julian Przyboś (1944–1945) * Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz (1945–1946, 1947–1949, 1959–1980) * Kazimierz Czachowski (1946–1947) * Leon Kruczkowski (1949–1956) * Antoni Słonimski (1956–1959) * Jan Józef Szczepański (1980–1983) * Halina Auderska (1983–1986) after 1986, honorary president of ZLP * Wojciech Żukrowski (1986–1989) * Piotr Kuncewicz (1990–2003) * Marek Wawrzkiewicz (2003–)

Martial law in Poland

Postwar presidents

Notes and references

Further reading